Ryan Reynolds opened up in a GQ interview about a near-fatal accident from his teenage years in Vancouver, saying a drunk driver hit him so hard he suffered multiple fractures, “broke every bone” on his left side, and spent four weeks in the hospital—after bei
Ryan Reynolds didn’t start his story with the movie stars or the red carpets. He started with a moment from his teenage years that still sounds like a jolt.
In a recent GQ interview with fellow actor Rob Mac, the Deadpool star recalled being run over by a drunk driver after what he described as a “firmly positive and wise decision for a young, 18-year-old male.” Reynolds said he spent four weeks in the hospital.
What he went through was brutal. Reynolds said the driver hit his left side so hard the car was “not operational. ” and he added that he “broke every bone in my left side.” He joked that he wanted to thank “Dr. Meek at the General Hospital for putting me back together so kindly. ” with a quip about “Socialized medicine” and that the doctor “couldn’t say no.”.
Reynolds was a teenager when it happened, and he previously tied the crash to his hometown of Vancouver. The incident was roughly 30 years ago. and Reynolds has also said it took place while he was 19—an age where the drinking rules were different. he explained. In a 2019 interview with Global Grind TV. he looked back at the lead-up to the crash and said he had “a couple of drinks. ” then walked home instead of driving. On the way home. he said. he “got hit by a drunk driver. ” and he couldn’t help but land on the punchline of “Thanks. karma!”.
The aftermath carried its own shock. Reynolds has said he was unconscious for three days after the crash. In 2011, speaking to CTV News, he described not regaining consciousness for three days post-accident and being possibly retching before waking. He remembered his dad sitting there with “a vomit tray. ” saying. “I guess I had been heaving in my unconscious.” Reynolds also shared that he ended up throwing up on his father.
Even then, he returned to humor. He joked about the scene afterward, saying, “Nothing says love like painting someone with three-day-old Gin Rummies. Just soaked the man head to toe in my vomit.”
Through the pain and recovery, Reynolds still moved forward with acting—though he has said the experience stayed with him long after he recovered. He told GQ that “Since then, I’ve been a rickety, broken mess.”
Before the crash, Reynolds had already begun building his acting résumé, with appearances on the teen drama Hillside and the fantasy series The Odyssey, plus a TV movie called My Name Is Kate. His feature film debut came in 1993’s Ordinary Magic.
Ryan Reynolds GQ interview drunk driver Vancouver accident Deadpool hospital stay General Hospital Hillside The Odyssey My Name Is Kate Ordinary Magic